How MP cops mocked law enforcement by arresting 15 Muslims for sedition in Champions Trophy final case

In Madhya Pradesh's Burhanpur district, on the night of June 18 after the Champions Trophy cricket final telecast, 15 Muslim men were arrested by the police. The charge was sedition (IPC Section 124-A) and conspiracy (120-B), for they had reportedly cheered for Pakistan after their famous win.

The accused were finally granted bail by a court on June 27 evening, after spending nine days in jail. By then, the MP police had covered itself in ignominy, earning ire and ridicule in equal measure for arresting the men - aged between 18 and 40 years - on the claim by a Hindu neighbour in Mohad village. The bail was secured after Subhash Koli, the original plaintiff, told the court that he had been forced by the police to make the complaint.

A day after the arrest, evidently unnerved by the national outrage, the overzealous cops had dropped the 'sedition' charge and booked the men afresh, this time under Section 153-A for 'spreading communal enmity'.

Mohad, on the MP-Maharashtra border, is predominantly Muslim and OBC, and many are converts from the tribal Bhil community. The police files permanently list the village as 'communally tense'. Two characters are key to the drama of June 18-inspector Sanjay Pathak of Shahpur police station and Koli, who subsequently stated in court that the police forced him to file the complaint. Thirty-two-year-old Koli says he went to the police station to inquire about the release of another youth who was in custody when police personnel there beat him up and forced him to call in a complaint to the control room. He denies hearing any slogans but maintains that some crackers went off that night.

Pathak claims Koli is backtracking, because of pressure from the media. The inspector insists that during interrogation, the accused admitted to bursting crackers. Sources, however, say that Koli, who repairs dish antennae for a living, has been known to work closely with the police as an informer. So why did he backtrack? The police say he got spooked after complaining against a community that forms most of his clientele.

Whatever the truth, all 15 accused were sent to 15 days in judicial remand on June 20. Political analysts say the events are symptomatic of the communally charged atmosphere that is building up in the Malwa region of the state. "Manning the districts in the Malwa region is one of the most challenging assignments as a cop in Madhya Pradesh," says a senior police officer who has served in many districts there.

Meanwhile, in another incident, the police in Gwalior booked a Kashmiri student, also under section 153-A, after he made a pro-Pakistan comment on Facebook after the same match. Two other people, including a minor, have also been booked in the case. Elections are due in the state in 2018. Is there a grand design to all this?